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Birmingham's historic Lyric Theatre undergoing restoration

The Lyric Theatre on 3rd Avenue North in downtown Birmingham, is currently being renovated. The theatre, which closed its doors in 1958, is slated to reopen in early 2014. The third floor balcony was once reserved for African-Americans only with a special entrance and stairwell for access.

Published: Friday, June 21, 2013 at 3:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, June 20, 2013 at 4:22 p.m.

BIRMINGHAM | On a downtown Magic City street in the early 20th century, the country's biggest stars strode the stage of a fabulous theater, comparable in glitz and grandeur to the best houses of New York.

And they were live, real 3-D, not flattened on the silver screen of the yet-to-come Alabama Theatre across the street: the brothers Marx, Mae West, Buster Keaton (with his family act), Will Rogers, Sophie Tucker, Fred Allen, Rube Goldberg, Jack Benny, Milton Berle, Roy Rogers and yes, Trigger, trod the boards of the fabulous vaudeville-centered Lyric Theatre, at 1800 34th Ave. N. in Birmingham.

But the movies killed vaudeville, or at least mortally wounded the idea of taking acts out on the road, when they could so easily be filmed and back in their trailers for lunch. So after a heyday from 1914 to about 1927, the Lyric began to fade in the glow of its cross-the-street neighbor, the lavish Alabama. It closed in 1958, only to sputter open in the '70s as an art-film house, then in the '80s for a brief run as a porn-film house, before shutting down again.

A beauty shop moved into the lobby area about that time, effectively blocking off the Lyric, which once sat more than 1,500 people in ice-conditioned comfort — a primitive fan system blew air past an estimated 2 tons of ice per day — where blacks and whites watched shows together, a first in Birmingham, although the blacks had to sit in the highest of two steep balconies. A water tank near the stage allowed for aquatic acts.

When Birmingham Landmarks Inc., which was created to renovate and restore the Alabama, broke through that old shop, it was like uncovering a thought-lost King Tut's tomb, said Brant Beene, executive director for the Alabama and Lyric Theatres.

Workers found relatively well- preserved Sylacauga-marbled floors and staircases, soaring balconies and grand opera boxes overhung with chandeliers, replete with the original blue light bulbs. There was a mural titled "The Allegory of the Muses" over the stage front, painted by local artist Harry Hawkins. There was an 80-foot-wide stage with 20 feet of wing space to either side. The still-hanging gold-leafed 1914 curtain boldly claimed ASBESTOS, because fire hazards were a big concern in the earliest theaters.

All this was to decorate and accommodate an acoustically beautiful, bell-like auditorium.

About 20 years after Cecil Whitmire, the late visionary who oversaw the Alabama's rebirth, started ringing the bells for the Lyric, a fundraising campaign is more than halfway to the estimated $7 million needed to bring the Lyric back alive in its centennial year.

"His dream was to get this one going, but he'd say, ‘I'm trying to run one theater; I'm too tired to build another,' " Beene said.

Tonight, a performance by Birmingham Vaudeville Company — which clearly hasn't gotten the message of eclectic live theater's demise — will help add to that campaign, with Summer Solstice 2013 at the Alabama. Would-be donors who can't make that show are invited to see www.lightupthelyric.com or www.rally.org/savethelyric to contribute.

Selling the Lyric hasn't been as tough as one might have imagined, Beene said, noting that corporate sponsors such as Regions Bank and the Alabama Power Foundation have stepped up to shine this jewel in the theater district. He and Glenny Brock, coordinator of volunteers for Birmingham Landmarks, have been giving tours of the structurally solid space — built and reinforced with Birmingham steel, after all — for about five years now, stirring the interest.

"We just try to give people a sense that it's here, and that this restoration is happening," Beene said.

Berle dubbed it "as fine a theater as any in New York," and indeed the Lyric was built to Broadway standards, with balconies close and steep, the farthest seat from the stage just a little more than 50 feet away, for the days before amplification and camera close-ups. The Lyric hosted those big names by being part of the B.F. Keith Big Time Vaudeville circuit.

The building was constructed by local real-estate developer Louis V. Clark, who brought in Richmond, Va., theater developer Jake Wells, who already owned and managed the Bijou Theatre, a block west, as well as numerous other theaters around the South. It was probably one of the first fully electric public buildings in the city.

It wasn't just a spot for the big-time, still-remembered acts, though; freak shows came through, and performers such as Hardeen, a talented and once-popular magician and escape artist who worked in the shadow of big brother of Harry Houdini. Monday nights were hot times at the Lyric, and although it operated year-round, the ice-cooling system sometimes gave way in the summer months, when shows would sometimes be canceled on account of heat. Tickets ran from 25 to 75 cents over those early decades.

The Waters family sold the Lyric to Birmingham Landmarks for $10 in 1993, Beene said, including the adjoining office and retail spaces, whose pebbled-glass doors look ready to swing wide for Humphrey Bogart. The current renovation project does not include money to rebuild and refurbish those upper floors, although there are now operating retail concerns on the ground floor.

Although serious restoration isn't expected to begin until early 2014, cleanup and other preliminary work has begun in the Lyric, with some exterior signs restored to help sell the notion to passers-by. The Secret Sisters shot a video on the stage, and bands including the hot St. Paul and the Broken Bones have come in to play, reveling in the old-school theatrical magic of the Lyric. The Chad Fisher Group, a Birmingham-based jazz combo, played an acoustic fundraiser there last September, with audiences bringing in folding chairs or blankets. Moldering seats have been removed from the main floor and temporarily stored in the top balcony, which featured bench or stadium seating.

The main campaign began about four months ago, and is currently at $4.2 million of the $7 million needed to get the Lyric fully functional again. The city, including Mayor William Bell, has thrown help behind the process.

Tuscaloosans have been a part of the project as well, Beene said, especially the Pink Box Burlesque and Tuscaloosa Paranormal Society, which have made multiple donations.

When reopened, the Lyric is expected to seat from 800 to 1,000, operating as a rental facility for local and touring acts. The orchestra pit could accommodate up to 55 musicians, and the pinrails and other tech offstage will be restored to full function, albeit with modern companies in mind. The air-conditioning system won't involve ice blocks.

Birmingham groups that have expressed desires to perform there including the Alabama Symphony Orchestra, Alabama Ballet, Red Mountain Theatre and others. Beene expects the Lyric to be operating in the black within 20 months, according to one business model. Plans are to keep it acoustic, with the exception of film showings, probably of indie and art movies; the Lyric will likely become another venue for Birmingham's annual Sidewalk Film Festival.

Rather than draw audiences from the Alabama, the Lyric should benefit its programming, Brock said.

"The Alabama turned down Willie Nelson two times in a row, and Bob Dylan once, because weddings were planned," she said. The Lyric would be the perfect alternative for concerts — the Alabama hosts them too, but is in great demand for rentals — when the Alabama is otherwise booked, for films or dance recitals or one of its other numerous functions.

"What I want to do is keep this an acoustic venue," Beene said, "for Emmylou Harris or Sam Bush or the Secret Sisters or whoever. The sound here is just amazing; it just swells," he said, noting that he's demonstrated its power with his own version of a Tarzan yell. But even softly spoken voices can be clearly understood from the balcony.

"I think the Lyric is going to tell us what it wants to be," he said.

Tonight's performance of Summer Solstice 2013 by the Birmingham Vaudeville Company will feature the Crescent Circus from New Orleans; the Birmingham belly dance and fire- performance troupe Erynias Tribe; and other vaudeville-style performers and acts from around the South. The show begins at 8 at the Alabama, 1817 Third Ave. N., with doors opening at 7. Tickets are $40.40, through Ticketmaster.

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